Puneet Yadav century gives Rajasthan victory over Railways

Indore: Opener Puneet Yadav smashed a sparkling century as Rajasthan scored an easy seven-wicket victory over Railways in the Central Zone leg of the Vizay Hazare One-Day Championships here Wednesday.

Yadav hit 18 fours in his 117-knock of 123 as Rajasthan chased down the target of 232 with 37 balls to spare at Holkar Cricket Stadium. Captain Robin Bist contributed 49 as Rajasthan reached 232 for three in 43.5 overs. For Railways, Karan Sharma grabbed two wickets for 37 runs while Krishnakant Upadhyay took one wicket.

Jatin Saxena grabbed five wickets for 40 runs while contributing 61 with the bat as Madhya Pradesh thumped Vidarbha by 68 runs to advance to the quarter-finals.

Earlier, sent into bat, Railways were all out for 231 in 48.5 overs with captain Mahesh Rawat top-scoring with 81 which he hit from 64 balls with the help of eight fours and two sixes. Opener Shivakant Shukla contributed 47. For Rajasthan, Madhur Khatri and Raman Chahar took three wickets apiece. Rajasthan got four points from the win while Railways got none.

Meanwhile, Leg-spinner Jatin Saxena grabbed five wickets for 40 runs while contributing 61 with the bat as Madhya Pradesh thumped Vidarbha by 68 runs to advance to the quarterfinals stage of the Vizay Hazare One-Day Championships here Wednesday.

Chasing a big target of 264, Vidarbha were all out for 195 in 47.1 overs with Jatin Saxena doing the main damage. Jalaj Saxena, who had impressed for India A in the practice game against the visiting Australians, took two wickets in the Central Zone leg match.

Vidarbha made a wobbly start and made a bit of a recovery in the middle overs only to lose way at slog overs. From 174 for five, they lost five wickets while adding just 21 runs to lose the match.

Earlier, electing to bat, Madhya Pradesh notched up 263 for eight with wicketkeeper Naman Ojha top-scoring with a 99-ball 83. Jatin Saxena was the other main contributor with a 83-ball 61 which he hit with the help of seven fours.

For Vidarbha, pacer Shrikant Wagh grabbed six wickets for 56 runs but his fine effort went in vain. Madhya Pradesh got five points, including a bonus point, from the win while Vidarbha got minus one for conceding the bonus point.